The Rose In The Crossbow
by TheVillain17
Summary: Just because she was someone before all this doesn't mean she's anything in this new world. In a different country, in a strange new world. Victoria just wants to survive. But she can't do it alone. ***Rated M for language and disturbing scenes in upcoming chapters***
1. Going Alone

The maid lay face down on the floor in the hallway in a pool of her own blood, her eyes open and glazed over. Scattered around her body were shards of broken glass that had once been a vase, and in the last minute had been used as a weapon to hit the maid on the side of the head and cause her temple to cave in.

Victoria was slightly panting from the energy she had had to exert to stop the maid from attaching her. Drawing her eyes away from the now motionless body, she sighed as she looked down at the blood splatters on her white silk pajama shirt.

She padded bare foot across the mahogany wood floor, past the living rooms French doors looking out over the green gardens that lead down to a calm lake, and into the bedroom. Standing infont of her wardrobe she reached up on tiptoes and pulled down her Givenchy Antigona bag, placed it on the king size bed and unzipped it.

Beside her bag was the outfit she had laid out before she had heard the maid banging on the front door. She started to change, discarding the silk pajamas on the floor. _Such a waste_. She thought to herself as she finished dressing herself in a plain black strap top and white linen trousers. She slid on a pair of brand new white Nike trainers, meant for the indoor gym here but never once used, and finally she placed a dark blue baseball cap with a red 'C' stitched on the front on top of her blonde head. She had no affiliation to any sports team in America but when one of her stops had been in Chicago she had picked up the hat as a momento of a good concert.

 _Only the basics_. She thought to herself. From the wardrobe she collected a couple of outfits and from the draws pulled out some underwear, stuffing them straight into the bottom of the bag. From the marble bathroom she collected her washbag, toothpaste and toothbrush, hair products, hair straighten and her small pots of medication. She dropped those into the bag.

Finally, from her nightstand, she picked up her mobile phone and unplugged the charger. She scooped up her jewelry, purse and a couple books she had meant to read while she was staying here. Into the bag they all went.

 _Well I don't need it to close anyway._ Victoria told herself, staring down at her overfilled bag. She slung the bag over shoulders, took a deep breathe, and headed back into the living room.

When she had checked into the 'resort' she had requested her room to not have a television, and no newspapers to be delivered. The first she had thought something might be wrong was a couple days ago when room service hadn't delivered her breakfast. She had tried calling the front desk but the lines were always engaged. In the end she had resorted to calling her manager, who told her that a lot of people outside were being struck down with an illness. He had said he would come and collect her as soon as he could get there. He'd never appeared.

Yesterday she had decided to finally visit the gym before her therapy appointment. Before she could leave she looked out over the landscape and spotted another resident standing outside on their cottages porch. The woman smiled at the approaching figure of Doctor Lawrence, but her smile quickly turned into a look of horror as the doctor hobbled towards her, grabbing her hair and sinking his teeth into the top of her arm.

Victoria had decided not to go to the gym after all.

The snarling maid who had tried to attack her was the final confirmation she needed that no one was coming for her. Problem was she had no idea where to go. Not a native to the country, and not knowing how to drive she guessed she would walk to the nearest city and see if someone could give her a ride to the nearest airport that could take her back home to England.

 _Hold on, pain ends._ She found herself repeating the quote from one of her therapy sessions. She hoped it would instill in her the courage she needed, though deep down she was terrified. One final glance back at the maids body before she threw open the French doors and walked out into the hot Georgia sun.

The far off echo of a car alarm snapped her back to the here and now. She'd been walking in a trance for hours. The things she had seen...the _monsters_ she had seen feasting on other people. So much blood...

Along her travels she had come across a small convenience store. She was exhausted, hungry and parched. The glass front of the store was smashed in and the shelves had been knocked over. Victoria hovered in the doorway, looking for any signs of people or those...eaters. Taking a couple of steps into the store, she grabbed a pack of crisps and a bottle of water and ran as fast as she could back out into the open.

She'd consumed the food and water greedily. Now she was berating herself for not holding some back. Once again her throat was dry and she felt light headed. _Thank god for this cap keeping the sun off my head,_ she thought, trying to find the positive in such a bleak situation.

 _That car alarm...it's getting closer..._ Victoria moved from the shade of the side of the road and walked into the middle of the five lane highway. There were no cars on this side of the road leading into Atlanta, but the side heading out of Atlanta was a sea of abandoned vehicles.

The glint of sun bouncing off a fast moving red car caught her attention. _The car alarm!_ She dropped her bag to the ground and started waving her arms high above her head. This was the first sign of a truly alive person in hours. She would not let them leave without her. Her legs ached and it was taking all her remaining energy to try and wave the car down.

"Please!" She screamed as loud as she could as the car drove straight past her. Her arms dropped to her sides in defeat and her legs crumpled beneath her. The hot Tarmac warmed her legs through her linen trousers. She wanted to cry but couldn't even muster the energy up for that.

"You coming or what?!" A voice screamed behind her. Victoria snapped her head up and looked behind her. The red car had stopped, she hadn't even noticed that the noise of the alarm was still present. Scrambling to her feet, she hoisted her bag back onto her shoulder and shakily ran to the car and into the passenger side.

"Oh my gosh...thank you..." She gulped for breath. The Asian man smiled and nodded at her before flooring the car and racing back down the highway.

"Glenn." He said as way of introduction. "Tor." She replied. Glenn snapped his head back to look her over again, his expression a mix of shock and surprise. "Wait...The Tor?!" He shouted over the din of the alarm. Victoria raised her shoulders in a gesture of _you got me_ , and nodded her blonde head.

"Woooooooo!" Glenn shouted, zig zagging the car in delight as they hurtled down the empty highway.


	2. Slotting In

Glenn had managed to contain his initial excitement and kept the sports car travelling in a straight line down the black highway. Victoria hadn't even bothered to ask why he was driving around with his car alarm still blaring. It made conversation practically impossible, but Glenn had explained to Victoria that he was part of a group of survivors and that he was sure she'd be welcome to join.

She rested her head back against the headrest and for the first time in days let herself relax. _Hold on, pain ends._

Her handbag was in the footwell between her legs, she opened her eyes and started to rummage through to see if she could find her lipgloss. That summer sun had sure made her lips cracked. The bag was just too full and Victoria gave up on finding such a small item. Looking at he lap she noticed her white linen trousers and brand new trainers were now covered in dirt and grass.

 _Once I've met this group I'll see if they'll let me use their_ shower _and any laundry facilities they might have_. She thought, a smile spreading across her face at the mere idea of a nice warm shower and a soft bed to sleep in. She didn't know what she would have done if she had still been out there come night fall. The thought of sleeping exposed to the elements didn't bare thinking about.

After a while Glenn made a turn onto a track of road that was more dirt than Tarmac. The path got steeper and they began to wind up into the hills. Victoria tried peering up through the windscreen to see if she could spot any buildings but only saw trees.

At the peak of the hill Glenn started to slow the car down until he parked it in front of a beat up RV. A group was gathering around them some looking anxious and others looking annoyed. The Asian boy parked the car and swung his door open, beaming from ear to ear at his people but they all seemed to overlook his happiness and were shouting at him. A muscular man in a blue shirt thumped on the hood of the car and from the side a blonde woman seemed to be asking him something in desperation, but Tor couldn't hear anything over the shrill car alarm.

She pulled the brim of her Cubbies cap down a little. A habit she had whenever she was faced with a crowd of people, though usually to try and obscure any unsolicited pictures they may be trying to take.

The hood of the car was raised and a thinner man wearing a baseball cap managed to turn the alarm off. It took Victoria a while before her ears adjusted to the noises around her. The blonde woman seemed to be asking about another person that was no longer with the group, and some of the men were scolding Glenn for potentially putting them in danger.

"Sorry...Got a cool car." He replied, the grin reappearing on his face. From behind everyone heard another vehicle pull up. While the survivors swarmed towards the people who had arrived behind Glenn, Victoria took a glance at her surroundings. No houses, no facilities, nothing that she had imagined she was heading into. All she saw were a few tents pitched up around a burnt out camp fire and a mix of cars, trucks and the RV.

She could feel tears stinging in her eyes and was about to succumb to her grief when the passenger door was opened and the lanky man who had turned off the car alarm held it open for her.

"Another new person?" He asked over the roof of the car to Glenn, who nodded eagerly. "Names Jim." The man said, a kind smile gracing his face as he looked at Tor and held out a hand for her to take. She peered up at him from under the baseball cap and relaxed slightly, slipping her hand into his and lifting herself from the car seat, her other hand clasping the straps of her handbag.

"Thanks." She said in response to the offer of his hand. "I'm Tor." "Pleasure." Jim said, slamming the car door behind her. "Come meet everyone!" Glenn shouted out to her. While a family reunion seemed to be taking place further away most of the other peoples attention was now drawn to the new blonde member of the group.

She walked around the front of the car and stood awkwardly next to Glenn. She once again tugged at the brim of her cap, feeling everyones eyes on her. "Guys, this is Tor." Glenn introduced her and several people greeted her. With some courage she lifted her head to make eye contact with as many of the group as she could.

"You guys know who she is right?!" Glenn asked, finding it hard to contain his excitement any longer. A reaction seemed to come from Tor's left and the blonde girl who had been shouting at Glenn earlier raised her hands to cover her mouth in recognition. "No way!" She squealed through her fingers. That garnered an even larger smile from Glenn, and a weaker one form Tor.

"Should we?" A man with white hair and a bucket summer hat on his head asked. "Are you kidding?! That's the English singer Tor Vickers!" The blonde girl exclaimed, turning to look at the older woman she had been reunited with earlier. Upon hearing the name the other woman studied Tor for a heartbeat before breaking into a crooked smile and crossing her arms over her chest. "Holy hell it is."

Some of the children that were present bounced in excitement next to their parents. One little girl looked completely shell shocked as she clung to her mother with one hand and her doll in the other.

The girl who had first recognised her stumbled toward Tor. "I'm Amy. This," she gestured behind her at the other blonde woman, "is my sister Andrea. Can I just say I am a huge fan. I had, like, every one of your songs on my iPod!" She gushed. Andrea stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her sisters shoulder. "Sorry, she' just overcome. Amy dragged me to one of your concerts, it was really good." Andrea said, pulling her sister back a bit.

Victoria felt her cheeks going red from all the attention. "Well, thank you." She offered to Amy, not knowing what else to say or do. A gentle hand patted her on her shoulder and she looked up at the white haired man "I'm sorry, I haven't a clue who you are, popular music isn't really my thing, but it's great to have you here." He told her, a warm look on his face. Victoria felt her heart rate slow down and a genuine smile crossed her face. This older man had the warm and caring appearance of a friendly grandfather and she felt herself relax in his presence.

The afternoon had drawn into night. Tor had been introduced to everyone in the group and shown around the little campsite that was now home. The kind man, Dale, and Glenn stuck close to her, being her guides. Dale had pointed out her lack of camping equipment and offered her place in his RV for the night. "Might be a little cramped but it sure better than sleeping on the floor of the woods." Victoria snapped up the offer and was shown a spot in the camper she could use. She dumped her handbag on her new bed and followed Dale back out into the open.

The darkness bought the whole group together. They had a meagre dinner of beans that they warmed over the camp fire. Once the food was consumed the other new member of the survivors, Rick, explained to everyone what had happened to him. He was lucky to now be surrounded with his family and a friend from his home town. The discussion soon turned to the horrors of this new world. Victoria stared in shock as each person spoke of their encounters and experiences with these 'walkers'. Some spoke of the news broadcasts they had watched before fleeing home, others retold stories of sick people biting others in broad daylight.

She hadn't been exposed to any of these atrocities. In fact, aside from the good Doctor Lawrence who had ripped apart a resident at the resort, she hadn't seen another person until coming across Glenn.

Morose and tense, the group fell into a subdued silence. Victoria watched the flames of the camp fire dance in front of her almost in a trance when the kind voice of Dale broke the silence. "You're a long way from home aren't you Tor?" She nodded, the baseball cap no longer on her head. "How comes?" Amy asked in genuine interest.

"I was doing a tour of America. Atlanta was my last stop, and if this," she gestured around her, "had waited another nine days I would of been back home in England.""That sucks." The young boy nuzzled into his fathers side commented.

"Do you know if England is having this same problem?" Glenn asked her. She shook her head. "I've tried calling but my phone hasn't had signal since I started walking to the city."

"Where were you staying?" Amy enquired further. There is was, the question she had hoped she wouldn't have to deal with. Torn between telling the truth or protecting herself with a lie, Tor stuck with the latter. "I was staying at a resort out of town. My band mates were already back in England and my manager was staying somewhere in the city. I haven't heard anything from them either." She looked back at the flames and hoped everyone could sense she was putting an end to the questioning. It wasn't that she wanted to be left alone, just that she didn't want to weave too many lies. Who knew how long she'd have to try and remember them.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale asked the others. Tor rested her head on her knees and let the conversation wash over her. She caught the gist of what had happened out there in Atlanta and that their group was now minus one. _Not their group...my group..._


End file.
